January 20, 1959

Governor Almond Addressed the State

This radio broadcast that Governor James Lindsay Almond (1898–1986) made to the people of Virginia on January 20, 1959, was his last, defiant reaction to federal and state court orders that invalidated the state's Massive Resistance laws designed to prohibit the desegregation of the state's public schools. One week later, the governor recommended that the General Assembly bow to the inevitable and permit limited desegregation of the public schools.

01-20-1959_Gov_Almond_Defiance.mp3Listen to Governor Almond Addressed the State (Transcription)